Before a soccer match starts, players and referees walk onto the pitch — usually hand in hand with a child. But for this match in Sweden, things were changed a little bit. The kids were replaced by the oldest members of the clubs, that’s why it was a little slower.
The Swedes should be renowned for more than selling furniture in bits and parts, they are also skillful football players as well! But at Friends Arena in Stockholm the walk-out of the players for AIK vs Gefle IF in the Swedish top football league lasted much longer than was expected.
These ‘kids’ walking with the players onto the football pitch were replaced by the oldest living members of the club, led by former UEFA president Lennart Johansson. The crowd coming to see the match was very surprised, but they seemed to like and approve the change, and their applause was unchanged, maybe even a shade warmer.